Samuel Merrill (August 7, 1822August 31, 1899) was the seventh governor of Iowa from 1868–1872, as well as an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War.
Early life
Merrill was born in Turner, Maine and was the second youngest child of Abel Merrill, Jr. and his wife Abigail Merrill (nee Hill). Early in life, he was a committed Whig and churchgoing Protestant, a strong supporter of prohibition and an equally vigorous opponent of the expansion of slavery.
Political career
Before long, he was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives. In the summer of 1861, Merrill was commissioned Colonel of the 21st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment, serving in that regiment until seriously wounded in the hip at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge on the Big Black River in May 1863. This was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863, where Union forces captured 1,700 retreating Confederate troops. The battle would mean the Confederate troops were bottled up at Vicksburg, Miss., which was strategically vital. General Ulysses S. Grant, who led that campaign, referred to Merrill's intrepidity as "eminently brilliant and daring" and that had Merrill not been a general officer at the time, he would have recommended him for the Medal of Honor. Merrill rejoined his regiment in January 1864, but the lingering effects of his hip wound forced him to terminate his military service the following June.
Merrill returned home to McGregor, Iowa, to recover. He returned to banking in McGregor, and was chosen President of the First National Bank. In 1867 he was elected Governor of Iowa on the Republican ticket. The North Iowa Times newspaper reported, "The people of McGregor were much pleased over the election of Merrill and showed their goodwill by serenading him at his home."
Merrill served as Governor for two terms, from 1868 to 1872. Merrill's impressive record as a demonstrably civic-minded legislator and patriotic army officer gave him significant political capital in postwar Iowa. In 1867 the state's Republican Party nominated him for governor ahead of the outspoken radical Congressman Josiah B. Grinnell (who had not fought for the Union). Merrill easily won the general election on a platform that pledged support for congressional Reconstruction, local economic development, and the enfranchisement of Iowa's small population of African Americans.
He proved to be a capable governor during his two terms in office (1868–1872). He labored hard to boost the state's material prosperity by fostering railroad construction and immigration. He lobbied to protect navigation between the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. He supported the public institutions, such as schools, but also sought to improve business methods to reduce the possibilities of corruption and to promote more efficient delivery of services. He also acknowledged the growth of anti-monopoly concerns among farmer by publicly opposing discriminatory freight rates and passenger fares. In regards to the state penitentiary, he prohibited the practice of flogging and urged that a Sunday school should be located in the same building.
Samuel Merrill was first married to Catherine Thomas, who died in 1847, fourteen months after their marriage. She died three days after the birth of their infant twins who both died at birth. In January, 1851, he was united in marriage with a Elizabeth Hill, of Buxton, Maine. Elizabeth and Samuel had 2 children, who grew to adulthood. Later, he would marry in California to Mary Susannah Fisk in 1894.